As Text Messaging Grows, Generations Bridging Gap

WTTW: LRN 2 TXT BC U WL HAV BTR COMM W/UR KIDS, XPRTS SAY.

Translation: “Word to the wise: Learn to text because you will have better communication with your kids, experts say.”

Since text messaging really began to hit the mobile scene in 2002 – as wireless carriers began to solve the problem of data transmission between networks – a vast generational chasm developed between users.

But the “gr8” (translation: great) divide may begin to narrow, industry professionals say, as older cell phone users continue to discover the usefulness of text messaging, particularly for keeping track of their children and with the younger generation roaming the halls of the modern workplace.

But first, some numbers.

A recent headcount showed that 8.2 million Americans ages 18 to 24 used text messaging as of October 2008, according to a survey by the mobile research company M:Metrics Inc. of Seattle. About the same number of people in between 25 and 34 used text messaging.

But over age 35, the numbers start to sag. About 5.5 million Americans ages 35 to 44 “text,” while 3 million people ages 45 to 54 text, and only 1.5 million people ages 55 to 64 text.

And a paltry number of people over 65 use text messaging – 428,000.

The survey did not separate data geographically.

In the last three years, however, the number of people between the ages of 55 and 64 texting has experienced growth more than double that of any other group.

That is no coincidence, according to Steve Gray, who climbed a rung at AT&T in November, succeeding Larry Evans as vice president and general manager for the consumer markets of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Text messaging offers a solution to a problem with which parents have dealt since the invention of cell phones — since, for that matter, the invention of telephones: getting the kids to call home.

A study of 2,070 parents and children, conducted by the market research firm Synovate of Chicago, revealed that children are 56 percent more likely to respond to a text message from a parent than to a call.

Fifty-eight percent of the parents surveyed said their children are easier to reach by text message, and 55 percent said they have more frequent communication with their children through text messaging.

“The fact of the matter is I would much rather text my daughter — this sounds bad — but I’d much rather text her and she’d much rather text me than talk to me,” Gray said.

“And the reason for that is, I think, is that she can get a point across pretty quickly. And usually teenagers that want to get points across to the parents don’t want to add a lot of color commentary.”

The main reason children text their parents is to inform them when they’ll be home, 88 percent of respondents said.

The second and third reasons children are most likely to text their parents are to tell their parents they are safe and to ask to be picked up.

Enhanced communication between parents and children is the largest driver of growth in text messaging among the older demographics, Gray said. “I think what’s going to drive [more growth in texting] predominantly is the aging of individuals like myself, who, sort of, in the formative years of parenting ‘grew up,’ so to speak, texting,” Gray said.

Business Finds Uses

Small-business owners have also discovered the usefulness of text messaging.

Daniel Bryant, principal owner of the Flying Burrito, Big Whiskey’s and Ernie Biggs in downtown Little Rock and The Fountain in Hillcrest, said that text messaging helps him juggle four businesses while ensuring that operations run efficiently.

Bryant, 33, said he will often send texts to his employees rather than calling or e-mailing. “I actually choose to text first. And generally the people that I work with, my employees, know to send something back even if it’s simply a, ‘Hey, copy that,’ or ‘Confirmed,’ or ‘Done’ or ‘Roger.’

“Or I’ll phrase [the message] in such a way that it urges a response for the people who don’t know.”

“I think for me being in the bar and restaurant business, and I have so many of my employees being in that under 30 demographic, and obviously texting for them is second nature if not first nature,” Bryant said.

But Bryant’s employees aren’t the only ones for whom text messaging is becoming first nature.

A recent survey by Nielsen Mobile, a division of The Nielsen Co., shows that texting has overtaken talking.

U.S. wireless subscribers in six out of eight age demographics now text more often than they make calls. Only people over 55 still call more than text.

Nielsen also averaged the number of calls made versus the number of text messages sent by all 50,000 participants for each quarter from the beginning of 2006. The study showed the scales tipping toward text messaging right at the end of 2007.

Though the coment wasn’t in reference to the Nielsen survey, Bryant aptly summed things up: “It’s kind of like get on board or get left behind.”

 

Two Lawmakers Take Up DWT

Two state legislators are proposing laws that would make DWT – driving while texting or talking on a cell phone – illegal. They plan to introduce them during the legislative session that began in January.

Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, is sponsoring two bills that would make the use of a hand-held cell phone by a driver a secondary offense, meaning it isn’t grounds for a traffic stop.

Senate Bill 31 wouldn’t prohibit the use of hands-free devices, and law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulance drivers and emergency medical technicians would be exempt from the prohibition. Also, any driver could legally use a cell phone to contact emergency personnel.

Hendren’s other bill, SB 28, would ban any driver under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

That bill, however, does not allow for the use of hands-free devices. Hendren said he deliberately excluded that exception.

Though SB 28 did not, as of last week, include an exception for contacting emergency personnel, Hendren said that exception would need to be studied.

Both bills would have a first offense resulting only in a warning. For all subsequent offenses, a violator could receive a fine of no more than $50.

The bills state that a violation is not admissible as evidence in a civil action.

‘Paul’s Law’

Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, has filed House Bill 1013, which is subtitled “Paul’s Law.”

Paul’s Law arose from the death a Jonesboro man, Paul Ray Davidson, who was killed in a head-on collision because the driver of the oncoming car, while rounding a curve, crossed over the center line as he keyed in a text message, Kidd said.

Paul’s Law would make the use of a cell phone by a driver a primary offense — grounds for a traffic stop — and would allow for a maximum fine of $100 on the first violation.

The bill provides exceptions for hands-free devices and, like Hendren’s bill, would exempt emergency responders.

Drivers could use cell phones only for emergencies, according to HB 1013.